And Then: A Paige to the Past
by Lilian
Summary: True love last forever, no matter what. (Can you guess who the pairing is?) :0


** And Then: A Paige to the Past **,   
  
by Lilian  
  
lilian413@yahoo.com  
  
AN: To the bestest of friends, who needed reassurance--- as we all do with the crap the writer's are giving us this season. Phoebe and Cole are together in my mind, and in fanfiction they will continue to do so till the end of time. So there! :0  
  
As you can see, I can happily live in denial...   
  
Review!  
  
  
*******************  
  
  
Paige's endless banter had filled the dining room for the past fifteen minutes, and showed no sign of stopping just yet. And Phoebe was getting restless, knowing her man was waiting for her upstairs.   
  
That was why she was ready to scream in joy, when Paige gingerly dragged her parents along, to show them her room, and the latest cases she had been working on, and some thing or the other.   
  
Don't get me wrong, she was thrilled her sister had gotten the closure she so deserved---  
  
"So, Leo, any plans for tonight?".   
  
The whitelighter smiled widely and softly ran a hand down his wife's long tresses, looking up to the ceiling as if expecting an answer.   
  
"Oh, I don't know. We could all have some family time now, you know, bonding over hot chocolate...".  
  
Leo's teasing voice told Phoebe he was just yanking her leg.   
  
"Oh no you don't. You promised me you would give me the night off".   
  
Piper grinned wickedly, knowing the adrenaline rush that came with accepting a marriage proposal.   
  
"Just playing around".   
  
Phoebe frowned in mock annoyance, and nodded.   
  
"Is that so? Well, scoot! Come on, go! Me and my man have some serious making up to do!".   
  
Piper leaned in, and whispered conspiratiorially, and yet still loud enough for Leo to hear: "Big sister tip: sex after the proposal--- just, wow".   
  
Leo had the grace to blush, as Phoebe looked at him appreciatively.   
  
"Leo, I never thought you had it in you!".   
  
She smiled as she sprinted up the stairs, leaving the blushing Leo and the giggling Piper to their cuddling. She had other things on her mind.   
  
Like the man who was waiting in her room.   
  
The man she had just said 'yes' to.   
  
As she walked down the hallway, the soft, comforting darkness of the manor enveloping her, she smiled even wider, as she remembered the happiness in his eyes when she accepted. Had she known happiness like this was possible, she would've said yes a long time ago.   
  
What Leo and Piper had told her in the kitchen just this morning--- had it been just this morning? It felt like a lifetime ago--- had hit home in her, a side of her she had refused to come to terms with.   
  
Because it was all true.   
  
She shook her head, killing that train of thought. She was past the doubts now, past the fear.   
  
As she approached her door, soft music reached her ears, and she smiled once again. Her man may have been a half demon once, but he sure knew what romance was... what buttons to press and how to sweep her off her feet with barely a glance from his smoky blue eyes.   
  
She pushed the door open softly, and her eyes widened at the sight that greeted her unsuspecting eyes.  
  
The bed was covered in red rose petals, and a bottle of champagne lay in a cooler, glistening with defrosting ice. And Cole--- Cole stood by the window, just turning around when she gasped in sheer amazement.   
  
"You like?".   
  
He stretched out his arms wide open, and she couldn't help but smile hesitantly, her eyes welling up with tears of joy.   
  
"I love".   
  
She approached him slowly, and hugged him with all her might.   
  
Gods, she had been so scared this afternoon, when he lay on the church's altar, unmoving, not speaking, his eyes closed and his breath coming in short gasps...  
  
So, so scared... terrified. Terrified that he would die without knowing she loved him. That she loved him enough to marry him.   
  
He kissed the top of her head, and held her in silence.   
  
She raised her head from her resting point on his chest, and looked up at him. And again, felt something awakening inside of her, a fire no other man had ever even lit up. And she shivered, with something that was so powerful, so *basic* inside of her, she needed to feel his lips on her own.   
  
And Cole did not even need to ask.   
  
He knew what she needed--- because it was the same thing *he* had been wanting to do ever since she had stood there, in that white, snow-white gown, her hand on his chest, her bouquet in her trembling hands, and said 'yes'...  
  
Yes... how could such a small word carry so much joy? Just three letters, three letters he had used before, three letters he had heard before--- but never with such anticipation, never with such expectation!   
  
He bent his neck, and softly kissed her lips.   
  
And she kissed him back, the time they had spent apart more than enough to ignite desire again.   
  
She never knew he had moved them both till her back settled on the softness of the mattress, and the deep, rich smell of thousands of wine red rose petals embraced her.   
  
She giggled from under him, and her hands found their way to the back of his neck, and pulled him towards her.   
  
He smiled in their kiss, mirroring her excitement.   
  
Their coupling had been different these past few weeks. Ever since he had become human, and especially ever since he had popped the question and she had refused to answer, it had been hesitant.  
  
Desperate, as if by joining their bodies hard enough they could tell the other things they weren't sure how to say out loud.   
  
But now, now was different.   
  
They were engaged.   
  
Engaged.   
  
Cole let the word roll in his mouth, and savored the taste of it. And of Phoebe's lips, and luscious skin under his body.   
  
Gods, this woman would be the end of him!   
  
He made his way down her throat, and toyed with the buttons of her shirt. Underneath him, she looked deep into his eyes, letting him know so many things, so many truths that she dared not say out loud.   
  
"I love you, Cole".   
  
He stopped moving as her slender hand caressed the side of his cheek. He leaned into her touch, and trapped her fingers with his own. He kissed them slowly, almost reverently, before placing her hand over his heart.   
  
"I love you too, Phoebe".   
  
Can you feel it?, asked his eyes.   
  
Yes, answered her own.   
  
No more words were spoken that night, as they both relished in the feeling of being together, really *together* for the first time in weeks.   
  
  
*******************  
  
  
"Wow".   
  
"You can say that again".   
  
They both lay awake, chest to back, panting slowly, trying to recover their breaths and failing.   
  
"Piper was so right".   
  
Phoebe's giggle was not lost to Cole's ears, and he buried his face in her hair before he asked what she meant.   
  
"The after the 'yes' sex... just, wow".   
  
His strong hand rested on the curve of her waist, drumming a silent song against her sweat-covered skin.  
  
"Sisterly bonding?".   
  
Phoebe turned in his arms, rolling over as to face him. She nestled her head in the crook of his neck, marveling at the warmth that emanated from his body. If only life could be like this... all Cole, all the time.   
  
Nothing but his powerful chest, and strong body pressed against her own, warming her with his love, igniting her passions with his eyes. She took a deep breath, inhaling his rich scent. No matter how many times she felt it, there was no smell quite like Cole.   
  
"At its best".   
  
Cole's arms came around her, and she cuddled against him, listening to the sound of his heartbeat.   
  
"Mrs. Turner".   
  
Cole looked at her, a smirk gracing his lips. There was a spark in his eyes that was unmistakable--- pride.   
  
"Sounds good, doesn't it?".   
  
Phoebe couldn't help but smile back at him.   
  
"It has a nice ring to it, but I think I'll stick with the Halliwell. Mrs. Halliwell-Turner".   
  
He kissed the top of her head, and one of his hands stroked the side of her breast.   
  
"Hadn't expected any different from you, honey".  
  
They fell silent after that, but it was a comfortable silence--- of people so in touch with each other, they no longer need words to communicate.   
  
Had they really begun drifting apart? Phoebe thought it was all a bad dream, a nightmare born out of her own insecurities and flaws--- but he remembered all to well the lonely nights spent in this very same bed, with Cole by her side and yet, not.   
  
Because they had become almost strangers in their denial, as Cole tried to pretend it didn't hurt that she had said no, and she tried to tell herself it was the right thing to do. To see the hurt in his eyes when she had declined his request had been the single most horrifying sight of her life--- it was at that precise moment she had felt him closing in on himself, drawing into his own mind and leaving her out.   
  
She had been too nervous to reach out to him, afraid to push him even further away.   
  
She sighed loudly, trying to rid her head of such ominous thoughts. Cole sensed her discomfort, and planted a soft kiss on her neck.   
  
"Want to talk about it?"   
  
She shook her head slowly, looking up into his gorgeous blue eyes and feeling the faint tinge of tears forming in her own eyes.   
  
A cloud of hesitation flashed across his cerulean depths, and Phoebe knew before he asked what his question would be. Before he could utter the treacherous words and voice the doubt that had taken root in his heart, she leaned forward and captured his lips with her own.   
  
Baring her soul to him through that kiss, Phoebe arched against him and smiled as she felt him responding to her touch.   
  
"Don't you dare say it, Cole. I love you and I *will* marry you".   
  
Their stares remained locked for an infinite span of time, and Phoebe watched with curiosity as the shadow of uncertainty fled from his eyes, chased away by her kiss. The way his face lit up with the most glorious smile she had ever seen was like watching the sun come out after a heavy rain--- welcomed and cherished.   
  
"Sorry", he whispered to her, as if afraid to raise his voice. Phoebe shook her head, and rested against his chest, feeling his warmth seeping from him and into her.   
  
"No. I'm sorry. I'm sorry I ever made you suffer--- I didn't mean to. I just--- I couldn't--- before...".  
  
Her words came out garbled and seemingly senseless, but Cole had learnt to speak Phoebe-esque a long time ago.   
  
"No. I should've understood... I never did until a while ago".  
  
He hugged her to him, relishing in the feel of her supple body pressed against his own. He had thought they would never share this level of connection between them again--- had thought they were bound to become strangers in a bed, sharing it by habit rather than choice.   
  
And he dreaded it... he feared the day when he would look to his side and find that the sleeping woman beside him wasn't the one he had fallen in love with.   
  
In the end, he needn't worry.   
  
Phoebe had always remained the same, just hidden beneath her insecurity and inability to accept his proposal. It had taken him a while to understand why she had refused in the first place--- Piper had explained it to him, and he had finally been able to breathe normally again, without the heavy weight of heart break making every inhalation agony.   
  
But still, the way she clung to him now was evidence that her own thoughts had not strayed far from his own. There was a possessiveness that hadn't been there before in the way she casually slung an arm around his chest, as if trying to tell unseen eyes that they were together and would soon be married.  
  
He looked up with a grin dancing from his lips, and sent a silent I-told-you-so to the heavens.   
  
"Maybe we should agree we were both foolish or spend the rest of the night apologizing to each other".   
  
Her smile was obvious as she craned her neck and looked up to him. Cole smiled back at her, and leaned forward to plant a chaste kiss on her lips.   
  
Brushing her mouth with his own, his hand caressed the side of her face tenderly, and he felt his human heart burst with endless joy. So this was what perfect happiness meant...   
  
As she become bold and daring, and rolled back on the bed drawing him over her, Cole let her, careful not to crush her under his own weight. Phoebe, on the other hand, had other thoughts in mind it seemed, as her hands snaked around his neck and begun tracing patterns on his back.  
  
Breathless, they parted, and Cole saw the raging fires of passion igniting within Phoebe's eyes and in the way her whole skin seemed flush and wanting.   
  
"Do you have other ideas as to what we could do for the rest of the night, Cole?".   
  
His grin was cattish in its wickedness, and as he bent down and licked the skin of her upper breasts, he answered her: "Several, in fact".   
  
Phoebe moaned as he continued his ministrations, feeling as her body opened up to him like a flower under the sun, seeking its warm rays and needing it to survive. The realization came to her abruptly, and she realized she was indeed addicted to this man... she could not fathom her life without him, and she shivered at the thought that she might lose him.   
  
She had almost lost him, as a matter of fact, as she had let her worries get the best of her. She was young and impulsive and sometimes childish in her ways--- but the woman in her mourned her mistake, as she knew Cole might've been lost to her forever.   
  
But he was here now, making his presence *very* known to her, thought a corner of her mind, as he traveled down her body and began awakening it in ways it hadn't experienced for far to long. And sending all logic and rational thinking out the way in the process.   
  
"Please", she begged, needing to feel him close to her again. Needing to be reassured that she hadn't lost him, that she hadn't made that final mistake that would one day drive him away from her.   
  
"I know", he answered her, his voice throaty and thick with his own passion. He indeed knew--- he had lived far longer than she had (almost four times her age, as a matter of fact), but he was still vulnerable to rejection, and he needed this as much as she did.   
  
His fingers continued their path down her body as he moved back up to kiss her again. She flexed against him with the rhythm he himself was setting, and he smiled in their kiss when she broke the connection and gasped loudly, her dark hair falling from her face as she rose a few inches above the bed.   
  
To see her face contorted in pleasure was the most beautiful sight he had ever seen, and he would die a happily man having seen it one more time. But he wasn't dead, and Phoebe was about to show just how alive he really was.   
  
"That was...".  
  
She fell silent, unable to actually find a word to describe it.   
  
His male ego prided itself in the knowledge it had been *he*, and no other, the one to bring her to the throes of ecstasy, but nothing could compare to the sheer bliss that he was experiencing as he made love to the woman he loved.   
  
Panting heavily, Phoebe tried to get her bearings back, and Cole tried to ignore the delicious way in which her breasts heaved in time with her breathing and seemed to beckon him to touch them again.   
  
He was distracted from his staring as a muffled sob came from Phoebe's mouth, and worry washed over him like a curtain, pushing desire aside quickly.   
  
"Baby, did I hurt you?".   
  
She seemed so lost in her grief that she did not answer him. Instead, she furrowed deep into the pillow, but not quick enough for Cole to miss the shiny tear making its way down her cheek.   
  
"Baby?".   
  
Growing desperate, Cole took her in his arms, and was surprised to see her hug him back with all her might. "Phoebe, I'm sorry... I didn't mean to hurt you!".  
  
His large hands were entwined in her hair, but she did not seem to notice. Instead, she giggled against his skin, and Cole felt as if someone had just pulled the ground from under him. What was going on?  
  
"No, you silly, you didn't do anything wrong!".  
  
Uncertain and still worried sick, Cole did not let her go. Instead, he relaxed his embrace as she shifted in his arms, suddenly making him *very* aware of their nakedness.   
  
"Why are you crying, then?".   
  
She brushed the few tears left from her eyes, and flashed him a bright smile. "I'm happy".   
  
Her words came out loud and clear, and there was such truth, such honest to God truth in them, Cole felt his heart surge with joy. She was happy...   
  
"Funny way you have of showing it", he teased her, grinning when she slapped his shoulder.   
  
Truth to be told, Phoebe hadn't realized she had been crying until Cole had gone from Lover Extraordinarie to Concerned Boyfriend (Fiancé, she corrected herself) in less than a second. But everything was so perfect... she feared she would suddenly wake up from the paradaisiac dream to find herself alone and cold in the king sized bed. But he was too warm next to her to be a dream, and far too solid to be a figment of her imagination.   
  
"We women find it therapeutical to cry, buster".   
  
He shrugged his shoulders, feeling the passion returning with a vengeance. "I thought you liked to talk. Isn't that what those God-awful magazines of yours say?".   
  
She nodded slowly, unaware of the devilish glint that had appeared in Cole's eyes. "Yes, but crying when you're happy is all very normal for woman at this point in time. With work and children and families and stress, sometimes a good cry is exactly what you need. According to Dr. Lawrence, the 21st century woman has so many things on her mind that she doesn't listen to herself anymore, ergo, they burst through the better way out. But sometimes, they feel as if they've accomplished their dreams and that's when---- hey!".   
  
Her speech was cut short as Cole rolled them on the bed and expertly placed her beneath him.   
  
"Enough talking. You look way too beautiful when you go Cosmo on me".  
  
She giggled at him, and let thoughts of crying and magazines and the role of women today drift away from her mind, and focused on the here and now.   
  
"Pervert", she told him as she brought him down for a kiss.   
  
"Witch", he answered her before their lips met, and then there was no more talking.   
  
Some screaming happened, though.   
  
And loud banging from Piper's part, telling them to keep it the hell down.   
  
  
  
*************************  
  
  
The end (temporarily, of course...) 


End file.
